A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC) is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. Smart cards are traditionally made of plastic. One common use for smart cards is in the security of hotels and the like.
Hotels and other multi-room facilities often employ property management systems that are separate from the access control systems used to physical secure the rooms in the facility. For example, hotels traditionally use their property management systems to manage and allocate guests rooms and to track transactions such as guest purchases at restaurants, valet, mini-bar, and other in-room purchases. A new guest account is usually created in the property management system per room during guest check-in with the hotel front desk.